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Death on the Nile

Death on the Nile

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $11.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Now that's what I'm Talking About!
Review: Arguaby the most stylish and sophisticated Christie adaption (not counting the on the mark Murder on the Orient Express, which captures the eerieness and darkness that Dame Christie's novel presented), Death On The Nile provides the grandier and class that any Christie fan searches for when watching one of her movie adaptions.
Not only does Death on the Nile provide the stars that most Christie adapted movies do, it's glorious costumes,atmospheres, and cinamotography (which, ok, is sometimes amateaur, but it has it's ear popping highs) are all met to the top.
With wonderfulperformances by Bette Davis, as the irresistable grand dame, who has an impeckable craving for jewelry, Maggie Smith (who has been seen in many other murder mysteries: Gosford Park, Murder By Death, and other Christies too) as the pearl cravers (Davis) nurse (which the two of them trade irresistable little bickers at each other). But who could forget Angela Lansbarry's hillarious performance as the drunken, bizarre, tangoing romance writer. Also with wonderful performances by mia Farrow (whoes performance is so scarily psycotic, it's almost not Christie, but hey, she's spectacular) and Peter Ustinov's wonderful, glorious Poitrot, that beats Albert Finney's potrayel by a hair.
My one (and only ) complaint is for Louis Chiles' ghastly performance as the hated Linnet. You would think that if they could get Lansbarry, Davis, Farrow, and Smith, they certainly could get someone better then Chiles, and after The Great Gatzby, who would want her. Her performance is so dull and bored, that you want to jump in and shoot her yourself.
But, despite Chiles' lazy performance, this is the most stunning adaption of one of Christie's most brilliant and soul captivating novels, that should not be missed by anyone( Agatha Christie Lover or not).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A woderfully expensive thriller
Review: Awash with the kind of star-studded cast that the 'nineties simply cannot muster, this entertaining whodunnit lacks real menace, but has a humour and charm that make the voyage worthwhile.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Traveling Up the Nile with an All-Star Cast
Review: Beginning with a stirring overture (composed by Nino Rota) and incorporating stunning location shots of Egypt and the English countryside, John Guillermin's DEATH ON THE NILE (1978) boasts a star-studded cast. Peter Ustinov, David Niven, Lois Chiles, Mia Farrow, Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury, Olivia Hussey...The only other movie version of an Agatha Christie mystery that rivals this one for the glamour of its cast is Sidney Lumet's MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (1974). And just as that movie was enriched by the likes of Martin Balsam and Richard Widmark, this one has such great character actors as Maggie Smith and Jack Warden in supporting roles. The story, based on Christie's own favorite of her novels, concerns a love triangle that is not quite what it appears to be. All three members of the triangle, along with famed Belgian (not French!) detective Hercule Poirot (Ustinov), his friend Colonel Race (Niven), and a host of others, end up in Egypt, and then on a ship that is traveling up the Nile. This is where the beautiful, wealthy, and unscrupulous Linnet Ridgeway Doyle (Chiles) is murdered. The problem Poirot faces is that nearly all of the passengers had motives for Linnet's murder, and the most likely suspect - her wronged friend Jacqueline (Farrow) - had a water-tight alibi.
Though Ustinov is not my favorite Poirot - that would be David Suchet - he was a wonderful actor and I LIKE his Poirot better than Albert Finney's (in MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS). He is full of savoir-faire, and egotistical but never obnoxious. He can also be deadly serious, as when warning Jacqueline not to allow "evil" into her heart. Niven's urbane appearance and dry wit ("Yes, I'd forgotten your opinion about yourself"); Lansbury's deliciously over-the-top acting as Salome Otterbourne, writer of "trashy" romantic novels; Hussey's winsome vulnerability as her neglected daughter, Rosalie; Davis' likeable prickliness as a rich dowager with a penchant for pearls; Warden's remarkable accent and manner as the German Dr. Bessner; and Chiles' flawless beauty are among the other memorable things in the movie. Under Guillermin's direction, the action flows to its shocking and tragic conclusion. With a script by playwright Anthony Shaffer (SLEUTH), this DEATH ON THE NILE was the perfect follow-up to the rightly acclaimed MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS.




Rating: 4 stars
Summary: With this cast... Definite cult possibilities!
Review: Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Peter Ustinov, Angela Lansbury, Olivia Hussey, Lois Chiles, David Niven, Maggie Smith, Simon McCorkindale... even cult chanteuse Jane Birkin... how can you go wrong?

The storyu has been played to death (no pun intended) and being an Agatha Christie standard, you know what you're in for from the very start. So kick off your shoes, relax and enjoy the scenery, the clothes and the wide-eyed overacting.

They don't make them like this anymore. (Thank the Lord?)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "Mon Dieu, how she makes enemies of them all"
Review: Death on the Nile takes the viewer on a genteel cruise aboard the paddle-steamer 'Karnak' as it, along with its motley collection of passengers, wends its way through the stunning scenery of historic Egypt. Unfortunately on this voyage the Nile proves to have disturbing currents, and a wealthy heiress with a propensity for making enemies is shot. Corpulent Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot is on hand, and, as the body-count rises, must tax his legendary 'little grey cells' to the limit in order to expose the assassin in their midst.

The charm of this film is that to most of the audience it will be foreign in both time and place. The Egyptian location provides a visual feast, with visits to the pyramids, the inscrutable sphinx, and the eerie wailing statue of Ramses II at Abu Simbel. Scenery like this makes it somewhat easier to forgive the movie its overlong running time of almost 2 ½ hours. The story (originally penned by Agatha Christie) is set in the 1930s - the golden age of detective fiction - when murder investigations were much less clinical affairs than they are today. In an era before DNA sampling, Poirot uses the narratively more interesting approach of involving suspects in conversation, and reading between the lines.

The cast is certainly star-studded, but unfortunately several of the characters tend towards stereotypes. However, there are some wonderful performances by several of the silver screen's grandes dames - Bette Davis, Maggie Smith, and particularly Angela Lansbury as the inebriated author of appallingly bad romance novels.

Although a little slow initially, various techniques (such as dead silence being used as the ultimate suspense music) keep the viewer's interest piqued right through until Christie's trademark denouement.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: GORGEOUS SETS
Review: Even if you don't want to follow the interesting plot, this movie is outstanding for its Egyptian sets. Since many of these sites have been recently closed or had the access severely restricted, it is amusing to see the stars cavorting over the Great Pyramid and other world-famous sites. You cannot even climb the Great Pyramid anymore and human breath and other excretions have curtailed going into some of the fabulously decorated tombs such as those of Tutankamun and Nefertari and Hatshepsut.The actors and actresses look glamorous but are constantly upstaged by the glorious remains of pharaonic Egypt. If one considers this a travalogue and then a murder-mystery, then perhaps ones priorities are in the right place. If any film cried out for DVD remastering this is one of them. Enjoy this movie in the depths of winter and it will really warm you up.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Little Gray Cells
Review: Fans of murder mysteries, especially those of Agatha Christie, will want to check out this mystery about the murder of an American heiress (played by Lois Chiles) on board a boat sailing down the Nile. Almost all the passengers on board have a reason to do away with her, and someone does the deed. It's up to passenger and sleuth extraordinaire Hercule Poirot, this time played by Peter Ustinov, to exercise his little gray cells to find the answer as the bodies begin to pile up. The mystery itself is quite entertaining to try and solve, with enough surprises to more than keep your attention. Ustinov brings humour to the Poirot character, and is amusing in a different take on the famed fictional detective. The supporting cast is filled with terrific actors, but unfortunately, they're not given much individual screen time to establish their characters. However, Angela Lansbury as the drunken author of steamy romance novels has a field day with her character, staggering from scene to scene to great effect. Mia Farrow also gets some juicy scenes. Bette Davis and Maggie Smith, as wealthy, jewellery loving old woman and her much put upon nurse, have a great chemistry together, insulting each other with style, but they aren't given much else to do. It's not often you see Davis blending into the background!! Others, like Jack Warden, David Niven, George Kennedy, and Olivia Hussey, are effective in underwritten roles. Victim Lois Chiles is quite stiff and doesn't deliver much of a performance at all. But apart from not fleshing out the characters enough, the film maintains the suspense, is great to look at (great scenery and costumes), is well scored, and the climax of the mystery is quite satisfying. Also, as an aside, it is unusually violent for a Christie story/movie, with repeated shots of murders. All in all, it's good, but not great mystery entertainment.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: How she would have wanted it...
Review: Having been brought up more or less on the works of Agatha Christie, I was a little more than excited when the films started coming out in the 70s/80s. The added extra was that casting included such luminaries as Bette Davis, Maggie Smith, Mia Farrow, etc,etc & the to die for Simon Mac Corkindale...as a teenager this was more than I could hope for. The film was stunning, and, unlike the stageplay, true to the book. The performances (B.D ,Angela Lansbury, Peter Ustinov, David Niven et al) are superb...all in all one of the most entertaining films I've seen....better than Murder on the Orient Express.... The only drawback, as I remember, was that when it came out, I deliberately abstained from reading the book.I was in the cinema queue with my mum whem I heard some complete to@@er coming out of the cinema say "Oh I didn't think it was '***********' who dunnit" Spoilt it a bit, but never mind....!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Poirot
Review: I am obsessed with Poirot films. This is one of my favorites. My personal favorite is Murder on the orient express. I like Ustinov's Poirot better than Finney but it is not nearly as good as David Suchet's on BBC and public television. Death on the nile is a very well made mystery film directed by John Guillermin (the guy who did Towering Inferno and the King Kong remake). I particularly like David Niven and Mia Farrow in this one, and Maggie Smith who seems to always be good. If you're a Poirot fan then this is must see. I also recommend Evil Under The Sun and Appointment in Death.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the best of Agatha's movie
Review: I have seen this movie many times and still loving it...can't forget all the characters, especially Salom Otterbourne.


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